Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P15088 (mast cell)
 14,925 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The prevalence and morphological characteristics of mast cells were studied in 41 liver biopsies from patients with acute hepatitis of different causes. In 17 of these biopsies mast cells were found both in portal tracts and sinusoids. They were mainly found in the classical and periportal types of hepatitis, and were more abundant in the later stages of the disease. Their presence was established both by staining for mast cells at light microscopic level and by electron microscopy. Two types of mast cells were found. Those in the portal tracts had the characteristics of connective tissue mast cells in other organs. The second type was the sinusoidal mast cell. These were closely associated with a variety of myeloid cells, and ultrastructural evidence suggests that they may be derived from the latter. Mast cells are considered to participate in the inflammatory response in acute hepatitis.
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PMID:Mast cells in acute hepatitis. 376 Oct 69

Recently, mechanism study of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has attracted an increasing attention because of the growing rate of the acute hepatitis caused by the virus over the world. As an important initiate in the inflammation, mast cells (MCs) play a critical role in maintaining a healthy physiology. However, the function of the MCs in the acute hepatitis caused by HEV is still unclear. In the present study, mongolian gerbils infected by HEV were used as an animal model to evaluate the role of MCs in the HEV infection. The positive ELISA and RT-PCR results showed the gerbils was successfully infected with HEV. The number of mast cell in the liver and the small intestine in the infected animals were growing higher significantly than the control group. In addition, higher expression of the tryptase and 5-HT in the liver and the intestine detected by immunohistochemical method and western blot also indicate the activation of MCs in the infection. These results suggest that MCs play an important role in the hepatitis E.
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PMID:Increased Mast Cell Activation in Mongolian Gerbils Infected by Hepatitis E Virus. 3033 98